Laser molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO thin films and heterostructures

Abstract

We report on the growth of epitaxial ZnO thin films and ZnO based heterostructures on sapphire substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We first discuss some recent developments in laser-MBE such as flexible ultra-violet laser beam optics, infrared laser heating systems or the use of atomic oxygen and nitrogen sources, and describe the technical realization of our advanced laser-MBE system. Then we describe the optimization of the deposition parameters for ZnO films such as laser fluence and substrate temperature and the use of buffer layers. The detailed structural characterization by x-ray analysis and transmission electron microscopy shows that epitaxial ZnO thin films with high structural quality can be achieved, as demonstrated by a small out-of-plane and in-plane mosaic spread as well as the absence of rotational domains. We also demonstrate the heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO based multilayers as a prerequisite for spin transport experiments and the realization of spintronic devices. As an example, we show that TiN/Co/ZnO/Ni/Au multilayer stacks can be grown on (0001)-oriented sapphire with good structural quality of all layers and well defined in-plane epitaxial relations.

arXiv comment28 pages, 12 figures, 93 references

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• Epitaxial growth and magnetic properties of Sr2CrReO6 thin films

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Large spin Hall magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic α-Fe2O3/Pt heterostructures
• Spin Hall magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic insulators
• Zinc Oxide - From Dilute Magnetic Doping to Spin Transport
• Unambiguous determination of spin dephasing times in ZnO
• Static magnetic proximity effects and spin Hall magnetoresistance in Pt/Y${}_3$Fe${}_5$O${}_{12}$ and inverted Y${}_3$Fe${}_5$O${}_{12}$/Pt bilayers
• Precise control of $J_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ magnetic properties in Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$ epitaxial thin films by variation of strain and thin film thickness